Honeymoon in Mauritius
Discovering Eastern Mauritius by car
Second trip - Part 2
July 2015
Seven years after we got married, we were able to have the honeymoon we always wanted. We could only afford it after working for 6 months in Saudi Arabia, earning very good money. So I booked a full 7 day, 7-night hotel package for us at the four-star Preskil Beach resort in Mahebourg, Mauritius through Flight Centre. It cost R40 000 for the two of us after we calculated all the hidden expenses and the extra things we did. We spent time on the beach at the hotel, but like the explorers we are, we were not content sitting still. So we rented a white little Hyundai i10 car and took day trips all around the island.
This island has such a rich culture and various ethnic, cultural and religious groups make up the population of the island. There are also a huge amount of expats, especially South Africans who have made this compact tropical island their home. Even though it is not a big island, it will probably take a year just to get a taste of everything and visit all the places. Pristine beaches to the exterior and sugar cane fields with beautiful mountain scenery make up most of the island. I took more than a thousand photos, which I will only post the best here. This photo expose will hopefully paint a picture of our experiences on this beautiful island.
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| Sugar cane fields - Eastern Mauritius |
On this particular drive, we started in Mahebourg the town where Preskil Beach Resort is located. After we stopped for snacks at the local supermarket we drove through Ferney on a road that took us past the entrance of the Falais Rouge restaurant on the right and sugar cane fields on the left. We stopped here to take pics.
We continued on this road across a bridge over a river/lagoon where the Dutch monument stands of the first Dutch landing.
Falaise Rouge & Sugar plantations
Nearby the village of Ferney, Falaise Rouge is an estate that stands majestically in the bay of Grand Port. Wrapped in a tropical garden of traveler's Palm and Indian Almond trees, this newly renovated table-d’hôte fully dedicated to delicious Mauritian cuisine, offers a panoramic view on this historic bay, the witness of the only victory of the Napoleonic naval forces against the British.
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| Entrance to Falaise Rouge |
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| Sugar cane fields across the road from Falaise Rouge |
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| Entrance to Falaise Rouge |
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| Sugar cane fields across the road from Falaise Rouge |
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| The road we drove on - In the direction of Ferney |
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| Sugar cane fields across the road from Falaise Rouge |
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| The road we drove on - In the direction of Dutch landing |
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| Sugar cane fields across the road from Falaise Rouge |
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Mauritian public bus on the bridge at Dutch landing - Anse Colas, Grand Port, Mauritius
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Dutch monument – Dutch first landing
Monument to the Dutch first landing is next to Anse Colas and is located in Grand Port, Mauritius
"The presence of the Dutch in Mauritius dates back to the year 1598. It was by a sheer mishap that they reached here. Mauritius was not on their itinerary while they were sailing to the East Indies. Fate, through the play of a severe tempest, drove them to the shore of the island. On May 1, 1598, Admiral Cornelius Van Neck and Vice-Admiral Wybrandt van Warwyck commanding eight Dutch ships left Texel in the North Sea for the Indian Ocean. From there they were to sail to Bantam (a major seaport in Indonesia at that time) to load cargoes of precious exotic products for trading in Europe. Roughly three months after leaving Texel they rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed towards Madagascar. The fleet, while navigating off the eastern coast of Sainte-Marie island, went into the turmoil of a violent storm. It was on August 28, 1598. The group of vessels was disbanded.
On September 17, five out of the eight ships - the Amsterdam, the Zeeland, the Geldria, the Utrecht and the Vriesland managed to reach the south-eastern part of Mauritius. Vice-Admiral van Warwyck was on board the Amsterdam. He ordered two of his officers, Hans Hendricksz Bower, and Hendrick Dircsz Jolinck, to look for a proper shelter to anchor the ships. They discovered the present day bay of Grand Port (which the Dutch named Warwyck Haven.) The landing of Bower, Jolinck and their crew marked the arrival of the first Dutch in Mauritius. On September 20, all ships were moored in the bay and most of the crew landed. Mauritius was still uninhabited and the Dutch found the island a dreamlike land and an extremely safe stopover for Dutch ships navigating across the Indian Ocean. On that date, in honor of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the island was named Mauritius"
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| The road we drove on - In the direction of Dutch landing |
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| Lagoon/river at Dutch landing |
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| Lagoon/river at Dutch landing |
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| Lagoon/river at Dutch landing |
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| Our rental car on the bridge across the lagoon/river at Dutch landing |
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| Lagoon/river at Dutch landing |
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